Hey, everybody! Yes, I realize that some people are anxious for me to get back to work on The Two Kinds of Halfas, but Dreambending has been ruminating for a while, and if I let it sit for too long, it'll go bad and I'll forget all the good ideas. You wouldn't want that, would you?
I don't own AD:JL or Avatar!
Please R&R!

Dreambending Chapter One

Where we left off-

Rose had just discovered that Jake's dream door had disappeared. In theory, this door could never disappear, because even if you're awake, there's still your subconscious and memories that are sitting there. So, she had decided to visit the expert on the Dream Corridor, her friend Drya. Drya was the one and only dreambender, and she had been in a coma for most of her life. Eventually she woke up because of Rose and had vengeance on the man who killed her parents. She also destroyed the Cabbage Merchant's cart. Again. So, now to the fun part!

At Milliard Fillmore Middle School-

Rose had been anxious all day. She hadn't seen Jake at all. Spud and Trixie didn't know anything. Rose wanted to talk to Haley, Jake's little sister, but she wouldn't see the little girl until after school. When the final bell rang, Rose was a nervous wreck. She could imagine it easily, that the whole thing was just and overreaction. But she knew it wasn't. She hadn't imagined Jake's dream door gone, a blank wall where it normally was. She hadn't imagined the fact that she had waited for hours for Jake to come to her dream. It wasn't an overreaction. Something had to be wrong. As soon as school was over, she got out her cell phone and called the Long residence.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Long. This is Rose. Is Jake there?"

"No, he's at his grandfather's shop."

"Thanks, Mrs. Long." Rose quickly hung up and ran all the way to Gramps' shop.

At Gramps' shop-

The little bell jingled as Rose opened the door.

"Hello?" Fu Dog walked in.

"Hi, Rose."

"Hi, Fu Dog. Is Jake here?"

"Yeah. He's in the back. He's got some serious magical flu bug though, so I'd be careful." Rose went into the back. Jake was lying down on a couch. He looked… turquoise?

"Hi, Jake." Rose carefully went over to him. He didn't look good.

"Rose?" Jake lifted his head wearily.

"Um, why are you turquoise?" Jake let his head flop back down again.

"Fu Dog says it's a side effect of the sickness I got," he mumbled through blue-green lips. Rose noticed that his skin seemed to be covered with a thin layer of sweat, but Jake was shivering. There was no way he was sweating.

"Well, I've never seen anything like this," Rose began as Fu Dog walked in.

"Kid, it'd probably be best if you didn't get to close to him. I've never seen anything like it before, so he's temporarily in quarantine." Rose backed away.

"I'll go home and see if I can find anything," she promised and left the shop.

In the dream corridor that night-

Rose sat by her dream door, clutching her knees to her chest. She hadn't been able to find anything on the odd turquoise disease Jake had. She was nervous and agitated.

"Hey, Rose!" Rose looked up at the sound of the cheerful voice. It was Drya. Rose gave a half-hearted smile.

"Hi, Drya." Drya's short brown hair whooshed around the girl's head with a dizzying effect as she sat. The dreambender noticed Rose's sad demeanor.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Rose said hurriedly. She didn't want to drag Drya into this. The poor girl already had a lot on her hands. She had just been orphaned after all. Drya shook her head and her loose brown hair swung in a gentle circle.

"No, there's something wrong. I can see it in your aura," she told the older girl. (A/N Drya's about 13, but I think that Rose is 14. She definitely looks older than Jake)

"You can see my aura? Is that a dreambender trick?" Rose asked, interested in spite of herself.

"No. It's a trick that Katara's been teaching me. You have to sort of squint your eyes and tilt your head a certain way. But we're getting off topic. What's making your aura so dark?"

"It's Jake." Drya looked at Rose's face.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"He's very sick with a magical disease," Rose told her. Drya's face radiated concern.

"Oh, that's sad. What does he have?" she asked.

"We don't know."

"Oh."

"But whatever it is, it's making his skin turn turquoise." Rose turned, half expecting Drya to burst out laughing or at least crack a smile. Instead her tanned face grew white.

"Turquoise?" she repeated.

"Yes. His skin is very moist, like a frog's, and he was so weak he could barely hold up his head," Rose supplied. She caught the worried look on the young dreambender's face.

"What's wrong?" Drya took in a shuddering breath.

"I think- I think that Jake may have a disease from my world." Drya watched Rose's face become blank in bafflement.

"It- it is a scourge in my world. It is known as Waterbender's Fever."

"Why is it called that?"

"Because it is believed to have originated among the waterbenders. Also, the victim becomes covered in a thin layer of water, and they gain a very high fever. Their skin turns turquoise. In my world, everyone receives it. You either live or die when you catch it. If you live, you never get it again. It is so horrible, no cure has been made yet." Rose turned just as pale as Drya.

"And you have had it?"

"Yes," Drya said, nodding. "However, those who can no longer receives the disease can be carriers. I must have given it to you," she said sorrowfully.

"But no symptoms have been shown yet," Rose protested.

"Boys always reveal symptoms before girls. That is one of the disease's oddities." Drya stood up.

"I have to go now. Take some pictures and give them to me tomorrow. I'll be able to confirm it then." Rose watched the girl go.

"But what about the dream door?" she asked herself. Then Drya disappeared behind a curve in the hallway. Then she was left alone with a thick gloom that could not save her from the almost certain possibility that her boyfriend had a fatal disease.

Wow, this chapter was gloomy. Bet my aura's just as dark as Rose's. Please review!